Socket 939 Opteron 170 @ 2.00ghz, whats a good card match for it?

[Maximilian]

I may keep my rig and upgrade it with a new card/new hard drives or sell it and build a new one when starcraft II comes out based on what you guys tell me. What is the fastest gcard that wouldnt be bottlenecked by this CPU? Overclocking isnt an option because it overclocks terribly.

 

[Modular]

That wouldn't be limited? That's gonna limit your options significantly. I'd say just get a 4830 or 4850 or 9800gtx+

 

[Andrew1990]

Well I had my 9800GT with a stock X2 3800+ 2GHz processor for a while and it was bottlenecked at lower resolutions. Once I got my 3GHz 5800+, my FPS sky rocketed.

Although I do have to say that the 3800 was able to play all of my games at high with decent FPS.

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: Maximilian
I may keep my rig and upgrade it with a new card/new hard drives or sell it and build a new one when starcraft II comes out based on what you guys tell me. What is the fastest gcard that wouldnt be bottlenecked by this CPU? Overclocking isnt an option because it overclocks terribly.

4200 le?

 

[TurtleCrusher]

4670?

 

[betasub]

Ah, an Opteron that overclocks terribly. Well, I guess someone had to get one to put all the Opterons OC'd to 3GHx into perspective.

OP question is meaningless without some sort of indication of usage: current game, resolution, detail. These will determine the CPU-GPU balance required.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Even at higher resolutions (16x10, 19x12) and detailed settings his processor would be a bottleneck for a lot of cards.

I'd say any sub-$100 card would work, since the investment isn't too great: HD4670, HD3870, 9600GT, HD4830, 9800GT. With anything faster I doubt you'd pull better framerates than a card like the HD4830. Heck, I'm sure some people here have similar setups.

When I get home I'll run some benchmarks with my HD3850 and different processor speeds and post them for you. If anyone has a high end card, like an HD4870, with an Athlon X2, they can also post some numbers when their processor is underclocked. For reference I'll run benchmarks at 1280x1024 for Team Fortress 2 (custom timedemo), Far Cry 2, 3DMark06, FEAR, HL2: Lost Coast, Company of Heroes Opposing Fronts, and possibly Crysis (I only have the playable demo). I'll run my X2 at 2.0, 2.6, and 3.1 GHz using Vista Ultimate 32-bit and 2xAA across the board, since the jaggies really suck at 1280x1024 and 2x makes a huge difference in IQ. 4xAA also makes a huge difference over 2x, but it really drops my performance in the more demanding games.

 

[Modular]

I don't think that he should skimp on the video card just because of the processor. I have a 4850 with a 3400+ overclocked to 2.6ghz right now and all my games are playable at the highest settings. Would I benefit and not have a slowdown every once in a while from a better CPU? Sure, but having the 4850 gives me the option to upgrade the whole system at minimal cost and really take advantage of the card I have now. Why not spend the extra $30-40 now rather than later?

 

[Pederv]

Why not get the best video card that you can afford? It's not like it's stuck in the system once you install it. You'll see an improvement with the new card and another improvement when you upgrade the rest of your system. Why buy two video cards in your transition to a better system?

 

[Denithor]

Because by the time he decides to upgrade the whole thing the "new" GPU probably won't be so strong any longer...

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Here are some of my results. Games at 1280x1024 with 2xAA where applicable.

Athlon X2 @ 3.1 GHz
-------------------------
3D Mark 06: 9819
-SM2: 4376
-SM3: 4729
-CPU:2208
Company of Heroes: 39.8 avg, 60.2 max, 18.6 min
Far Cry 2: 34.72 avg, 63.10 max, 18.24 min
Team Fortress 2: 54.15 avg

Athlon X2 @ 2.00 GHz
-----------------------
3D Mark 06: 7460
-SM2: 3387
-SM3: 3979
-CPU: 1442
Company of Heroes: 33.8 avg, 61.5 max, 12.9 min
Far Cry 2: 29.99 avg, 56.68 max, 16.41 min
Team Fortress 2: 41.10 avg

Notes
CoH: Game tested at maximum detailed settings using the "Performance Test"

FC2: Game tested at maximum detailed settings using Ranch Medium. At 2.0 GHz, the game was definitely not playable at these settings while it was playable at 3.1 GHz.

TF2: Game tested at maximum in game settings and 16xAF using custom timedemo on 32-player match in map dustbowl.